Senate passes ICE and Border Patrol funding after vote-a-rama

Senate passes – After a late-night “vote-a-rama” on a roughly $70 billion funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, the Senate approved the measure early Friday, June 5—following contentious amendments over housing affordability and the Justic

When the Senate finally moved past the last amendments and into the vote that would unlock funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, senators were still wrestling with the same question that drove the hours of delay: what would they trade away to get to yes.

The GOP’s roughly $70 billion funding bill cleared the chamber in the early morning hours of Friday. June 5 on a mostly party-line vote. It also came with a potentially high political bill attached to it as the fall elections approach—one shaped by a chain of tough votes Democrats offered. and by divisions inside the Republican coalition itself.

ICE deployments could reach over 40 states. ICE plans to deploy about 330 people to cities in more than 40 states, along with Puerto Rico. The administration’s enforcement push is aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement in both big cities and tiny towns—an approach that sits at the center of what Democrats are trying to frame politically. even as power in Washington has shifted.

Democrats didn’t have much leverage—until they did, if only for a narrow window. In a flurry of late-night Senate action. senators used amendments to force votes on everything from Justice Department funding rules to housing proposals tied to affordability. The process is known on Capitol Hill as “vote-a-rama. ” and this time it became a public stress test of how badly each party wanted the final outcome—and what it was willing to show to voters.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said the Republican agenda was “written in black and white: a slush fund for Trump, tax dodges for Trump, a ballroom for Trump, and a private militia for Trump.” He added, “For hard-working Americans? Nothing.”

Republicans, for their part, tried to keep the focus on the money for enforcement. As the votes dragged on until 5 a.m., at least some GOP senators said they were running out of patience.

“Why do you guys continue to put up amendment after amendment when you know we’re here to fund ICE and Border Patrol,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said. “Let’s get to the business at hand and end this charade.”

In the same stretch of debate, Sen. Lindsey Graham. R-South Carolina. argued Democrats would not have offered a deal to support the agencies “through the normal appropriations process. ” saying. “We had reforms. We had an agreement. And it just didn’t work.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune. R-South Dakota. largely kept his conference unified against the barrage of Democratic amendments.

Housing measures knocked down

With cost-of-living concerns front and center for voters before November, Democrats attempted to attach two housing affordability measures to the ICE funding bill.

One effort came from New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan. She offered a proposal she said would authorize funds through the federal Home Investment Partnerships Program to help build 7 million new homes. “Building these homes will help address our housing shortage and help make housing more affordable,” Hassan said.

That measure failed on a party-line vote.

A separate amendment from Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island also failed. Reed said his plan would have diverted funds for ICE and Border patrol to invest in more affordable housing.

The bill’s opponents weren’t arguing that Congress is ignoring housing entirely. For months. the Senate has been urging the House to pass a broadly bipartisan housing reform bill called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Among other things, the legislation would bar some Wall Street landlords from purchasing more existing single-family homes.

President Trump had pitched a different standard—“We want homes for people, not for corporations”—during his last State of the Union address in February.

Experts have noted, however, that policy may not affect large swaths of Americans because large institutional investors own less than 1% of single-family homes.

DOJ fund drama becomes the main fight

The biggest sticking point in getting the ICE bill passed overnight centered on the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche informed lawmakers this week that the fund—described as “much-scrutinized” by Democrats and other critics—would no longer go forward. Even so, Democrats and some Republicans pushed to codify a commitment in legislation.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, said earlier in the day that there were “a sufficient number of Republicans who have been very clear that they’ve got concerns here.”

As the Senate voted through the night, Sen. Bill Cassidy. R-Louisiana. worked late into the morning to find a politically feasible way to attach an amendment effectively killing the fund. He ultimately proposed a measure to reroute any payouts to law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.

That effort failed because it did not reach the 60-vote threshold.

Cassidy still managed to win a smaller moment of support. He succeeded in getting five other senators on his side of the aisle to vote with him.

The “anti-weaponization” fight also sparked additional votes showing GOP unease, but Democrats couldn’t secure their own alternative.

Eight Republicans voted for a separate measure from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, to ban payouts from going to Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted police officers. That measure, too, failed.

So the legislation moved forward—enforcement funding intact—after senators spent hours turning the bill into a referendum on other priorities, housing affordability among them, and the Justice Department’s controversial fund above all.

Senate ICE Border Patrol funding bill vote-a-rama Chuck Schumer Lindsey Graham John Thune Todd Blanche anti-weaponization fund Bill Cassidy housing affordability Maggie Hassan Jack Reed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Jan. 6 payouts